Machine for preparing insoles.



T. J. BALL.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING INSOLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-4,1911.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET L T. 1. BALL.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING INSOLES,

APPLICATION H-LED AUGI4, 1911 1,179,494. Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 3 B E lI 'rm: COLUMBIA PLANQGRM II CO4. WASHINGTON, I). c.

T. J. BALL.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING INSOLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-4. 19H. 4

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'rHoMAs J. BALL, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, on rernnson, new JERSEY, A CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING INSOLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 19 16,

hr li atiqa el Aug st 4, .9. ria .2 3

o e l/where may w e e it n w ha THOMA BALL, of

Boston, in t e u r ufl'olk a d State to designate the Operation of forming a bead or crimp in the reinforcing material an securing it t the in l It is customary to apply a blank of re inforcing material to the channeled face of the insole before. passing it through the reinfercing ma h e The reinforcing a rial employed is usually canvas or duck suitab y he te i h dhe i e s ta He fet f h bl nk f r nfor ing ma ia has een applied to h s e i a Width sufiieient for the sole at its widest point, namely, the hall. The width of this blank h s en qual at l P in t e e of h ank e g tra gh an pa l l, o that a r ely great quanti f ma er al has had. to be trimmed from the reinforced inso a nd its shank a er e mp e n o the e nfo ci g epe a i T is n er prepar g a insole f r re n r ing has been found to be very wasteful of the expens r i r i g mater l- The object of the present invention is to provide a machine for preparing insoles for reinforcing by which individual blanks of insole reinforcing material may be produced with a minimumwaste of stock.

To the accomplishment of this object one feature of the invention contemplates the provision, in a machine for preparing insoles for reinforcing provided with means for feeding a sheet of reinforcing material, of means for cutting the sheet along lines having a predetermined relation to the lateralcurvatures of an insole movable simultaneously with the sheet.

Broadly considered, the lines of out may be intermittent or continuous and may bear relat w e e were f t e ns mov le multaneously wit h sheet as found desirableor expedient:

In the preferred form of the invention thelines of out are formed in the sheet par allel to the lateral curvatures of the insole and this feature is important as part of the. invention. According to this feature. of the nvent on blank o re nforci g ma er is prod ed hic has the n ces ary W t opposite the ball of the sole and which has no more than the necessary width opposite the shank portigm,v The economic advantage of this feature is of considerable irn-' noirtahe a th aving pr nts not ly the 20st e h b i but the {2 s of th at ng s ance. and h hos f app y h a t the. f ic.-

Rein orci at r a may be ven en y c ted. i ets bout fifty yardsl g an ou thir y nche wide Accordingly, another ffi tture of the present invention contemplatesthe provision, in

h m q n fo p par g insol fo r forcing, of means for feeding a sheet of reinforcing fabric, and means for dividing the she nto str ps aleh in s n acco d n with the outline of a series of insoles ineva e. m lt n u y ther w h? Broa y on idered, he. s e may. he arr ng d t0 more s m ltan ou y i h the hee urin th f Qf he. a t r in any ui ab m nner: As the ins le re t he consolidated with the blanks formed from he s ip it is e ir bl to ick th ns es rect t h sheet and theentr the. $1 s o the h e t tr ps. ireht y f om the insoles carried thereby.

Prefera ly the soles are stuck tothe sheet in rows, and the ball portion of each sole is arranged in the transverse line of the shank were th sh et heaelr' .al-

In order to prevent the sticky strips from crossing one another after the sheet is divided and thus become entangled, the invention contemplates the provision, in a machine for preparing insoles for reinforcing, of means for separating the divided strips to prevent their sticking together, in addition to means for feeding a sheet of reinforcing fabric, means for rendering the sheet adhesive and means for dividing the sheet into strips.

These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combination of parts will be further explained in the following description and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Of the accompanying drawings which illustrate the best form of the invention at present devised Figure 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of a complete machine. Fig. 2 represents a top plan view thereof with soles arranged in rows on the sheet material. Fig. 3 represents, on a larger scale. a vertical section in a plane indicated in Fig. 2 by the line 33. Fig. 4 represents a top plan View of one of the devices in which a cutter is mounted. Fig. 5 represents a side elevation of a detached cutter. Fig. 6 represents a rear elevation of one of the cutting devices in operative position with relation to the work. Fig. 7 represents a horizontal section in the plane indicated in Fig. 3 by the line 7-7. Fig. 8 represents a vertical section of a locking device indicated in Fig. 1 by line 8-8. Fig. 9 represents a cross section of an insole.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

The machine for operating upon the sheet material comprises means for feeding the work edgewise with the soles stuck to the reinforcing material. The machine is provided with cutters whose function is to divide the sheet between the soles. Each cutter is supported by an independently movable member which is adapted to move transversely with relation to the feeding movement of the work. The members which support the cutters are adapted to be engaged by the lateral curvatures of two adjacent solesand to be moved from side to side by the said curvatures so as to cause the cutter to cut in a serpentine path between the soles. In this way the sheet material may be divided into strips whose outlines are determined by the outline and arrangement of the soles. After the material has been divided into strips in this manner it may be cut transversely to divide it into individual blanks. The insole is thus prepared for reinforcing.

The sheet material which the present ma chine is designed to prepare is indicated at 10. As shown by Fig. 1, the sheet material is wound in the form of a roll 11. One side of the material is coated with suitable substance 12 which under normal conditions is not sticky but which is adapted to be rendered sticky by the application of heat or a liquid solvent. I

The roll 11 is mounted between two upright frame members 13 fastened together by suitable transverse tie members such as those indicated at la. The members 13 are provided with brackets 15 adapted to support a spindle 16 extending through the center of the roll 11. The web of material 10 is drawn from the roll over a drum 17 and thence over a bed 18 in such manner that its coated side will be uppermost upon the bed. The insoles w are laid upon that stretch of the sheet material which is traversing the bed 18, and they are carried by the sheet material between two coactive rolls 19 and 20, thence between two coactive rolls 21 and 22, and thence to a delivery table such'as that indicated at 23 at the left of Fig. 1. A tension device comprising a band at and one or more springs 25 is arranged to act upon the roll 11 to retard the rotation thereof.

The cutters hereinafter described are arranged to act upon the stretch of material between the rolls 20 and 21. The rolls 21 are driven to effect the feeding of the work, and the roll 26 is provided with a friction brake for the purpose of maintaining the desired degree of tension'upon the work to prevent wrinkling in the stretch upon which the cutters act. The friction brake is shown by Fig. 3 and comprises a braking surface 26 on the roll, a band 27 engaging said surface, and a rod 28 and spring 29 for exerting tension upon the band. The roll 19 is preferably mounted so as to be movable away from the roll 20 in order to facilitate the insertion of the sheet material. For this reason the ends of the roll 19 are mounted in a pair of arms 30 which are adapted to swing from the position shown by'solid lines in Fig. 1 to the position indicated by dotted lines in the same figure. The arms 30 are slotted for the reception of the ends of the roll, so that the roll may yield in accordance with the varying thickness of the work. The weight of the roll is sufficient to preserve the necessary tension. According to this embodiment of the invention, the drum 17 and bed 18 are heated for the purpose of rendering sticky the coating substance 12. The heating means illustrated comprises a gas pipe 31 extending through the center of the drum, and a gas pipe 32 extending under the bed 18. These pipes are provided with openings 33 which constitute burners.

As shown by Fig. 2, the machine is provided with two rolls 21 which are arranged The purpose inarranging the rolls in this manner is to adapt them to laterally spread the strips into which the sheet material has been divided, to" avoidoverlapping and consequent stickingof one strip to another. The rolls: 22 are divided into a plurality of sections, and their central bore is considerably greater than the spindle 22 upon which they are mounted. The sections are therefore adapted to be displaced independently of each other as the thickness of the work varies and to keep the work in contact with the roll 21 with substantially equal pressure at all points, notwithstanding variations-in the thickness. The rolls 21 are driven in order to effect the feeding of the work. The feeding means illus trated includes sprocket wheels 34 -one on each roll 21chains 35, and driving sprockets'36 affixed upon a shaft 37. The shaft is mounted in bearingsin the frame members 13. A continuously driven shaft 38 is mounted so that one end may be movable toward and from the shaft 37. The movable bearing therefore is afforded by an arm 39 pivoted at 40. A gear 41 afiixed to the shaft 38 is adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with a gear 42 aflixed upon the shaft 37". The upper end of the arm 39 is provided with a latch 43 which cooperates with a notched sector 44 by which the gear 41 may be held out of engagement or in engagement with the gear The drum 17 is provided with. a sprocket wheel 45 which is connected by a chain 46 with a sprocket wheel 47 aflixed to the shaft 38. The direction of rotation of the drum driven in this manner is opposite with relation to the direction in which the sheet material is fed. The drum therefore slips upon the sheet material and maintains suitable tension to keep the material taut between it and the roll 20. The feed rolls 21 are preferably covered with a jacket similar to the clothing of a card roll in order to insure feeding the sheet material notwithstanding the reverse tension exerted by the roll 20, drum 17 and friction band 24.

The several cutters are mounted in suitable holders which are supported by a transverse rod 48 arranged above the work between the rolls 19 and 22. The ends of the rod are supported by the free ends of the arms 30. The arms are provided with portions 50 adapted to rest upon upper surfaces of the frame members 13 when the arms are in operative position. The frame members are provided with latches 51 which are adapted to engage shoulders 52 on the extensions 50 to lock the arms in operative position. The latches are normally held in locking positionby springs 53.

The form of cutter which at the present time seems to be best adapted to perform the operation of cutting the sheet material into serpentine strips is that shown by Fig. The blade of the cutter is indicated at 54 and the cutting edge is indicated at 55. The outline of the cutting edge resembles the letter .V. The blade is reduced to a sharp point at56 which is adapted to penetrate the sheet material when the blade is moved to operative position. The blade is formed with a slot 57 which is adapted to receive a pin aflixed in a follower 58.

The follower is provided with a cylindric stem 59 which is mounted in bearings 60 in a swinging arm 61. A collar 62 affixed'on the stem 59 prevents endwise movement of the stem in its bearings. The follower is provided with projections such as pins 63 (see Fig. 7) for engaging a lip 64 formed on the arm 61 to limit oscillatorymovement of the follower with relation to the arm. The extreme positions of the follower are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7, and the normal median position isthat shown by solid lines. The opposite surfaces 65 of the follower are adapted to be engaged by the edges of the insoles in two adjacent rows. The follower is provided with lips 66 which extend laterally for the purpose hereinafter explained. The blade 54 is inserted in a longitudinal vertical groove 67 in the follower and is held in position by a pin 68 extending transversely through the follower and bridging the groove 67. When the blade 54 isinserted in the slot 57 and moved in the direction of feeding movement, the pin 68 enters the slot 57 until it occupies the relation'shown by Fig. 5. The blade is thus rigidly secured in the follower. The follower is normally held in its median position by a spring 69 which, as shown by Fig. 3, extends from the forward end of the follower to an eye on the arm 61. t I

The arm 61 is pivotally connected by a stud 70 with a bracket 71. Thebracket is provided with an opening for the reception of the transverse rod 48 and is provided with a setscrew 72 adapted to engage the rod to fix the position of the bracket. The rod is preferably provided with a longitudinal groove 73 for the reception of the end of the setscrew whereby the bracket may be positively locked against rotative movement about the rod. The rod is affixed in the arms 30 so that it is likewise locked against rotative movement. The arm 61 is provided with a roll 74 arranged to engage the under surface of a segmental arm 75 extending from the bracket 71. The function of the roll is to sustain the arm 61 against the stress imposed by the work, whereby the bind in its bearing.

An insole of well known construction is shown in cross section by Fig. 9. The edge of the insole is slit around the forepart and along the shank so as to provide a feather a2 and a stitch-receiving rib m the rib being bent at right angles in the usual manner. In practice. the insoles are laid upon the sheet or web of material so that their ribs extend downwardly and engage the sticky substance 12. The attendant will stand in the vicinity of the drum 1'? and bed 18 and arrange the soles in rows as shown by Fig. 2. It will be observed that the heel of one sole overlaps the toe of the next sole in the same row. The soles are overlapped in this manner because it is not necessary to cover the heel seats with the material 10. The soles are not only arranged in longitudinal rows but they are arranged in transverse rows, and a sole in one transverse row is preferably arranged to extend in the opposite direction with relation to the adjacent soles in the same transverse row. The widest part of one sole is arranged in the transverse line of the narrowest part of the adjacent solo and a suitable space is left between the soles so as to form serpentine paths extending longitudinally of the work. Vhen a sufficient number of soles have been stuck to the sheet or web of material the arm 39 is moved to connect the driving mechanism to effect the feeding of the work. If the cutters are not already in cutting position, intersecting the plane of the work, their points 56 will readily penetrate the sheet material when the arms 30 are placed in operative position. The several brackets 71 by which the cutters are mounted upon the rod 48 are set at the appropriate positions, as determined by the longitudinal rows of soles. Each follower 58 enters between the confronting edges of two soles in the relation shown by Fig. 6. The lips 66 are overlapped by the feathers a) and serve to prevent the work from receding. The outer edges of the lips 66 are adapted to be engaged by the ribs 00 while the surfaces are adapted to be engaged by the feathers 00. As the work progresses, the several followers are moved from side to side by the sole and the cutters cut the work into strips along serpentine lines, as shown by Fig. 2, the lines of the cuts correspond ing with more or less accuracy with the lines defined by the edges of the soles. The strips become spread apart as the result of passing between the feed rolls and sectional rolls, and in this relation they are deposited upon the delivery table 23. The strips may be thereafter severed as desired in order to prepare the individual blanks for molding.

The machine is provided with guards adapted to be brought into use when the feeding operation is interrupted for a considerable length of time, for the purpose of preventing undue heating of the sheet I naterial. These guards are indicated at 76 and 77. The guard 76 is adapted to enter between the drum and the sheet material to disengage the material from the drum and to provide a suitable air space through which the heat may escape. The function of the guard 77 is to bridge the gap between the top of the drum and the adjacent edge of the bed 18. The guard 76 is attached to a transverse rod 7 8 which connects two arms 79, one at each end of the drum. The arms are adapted to swing about the axis of the drum from the position shown at the upper side of the drum to the position shown at the lower side of the drum. The-ends of the rod 78 are preferably extended outside the arms in order to provide suitable handles by which the guard may be positioned. An angular portion 80 at one edge of the guard 76 is adapted to engage a crossbar 81. attached to the'under side of the guard 77. When the guard 76 is moved in a clockwise direction it lifts the work away from the drum and finally draws the guard 77 across the gap previously indicated. When the guard 77 is moved in the opposite direction, the arms 79 strike against the crossbar 81 and repel the guard 77 so as to open the gap between the drum and the bed.

The hereindescribed method of cutting the reinforcing material makes it possible to use substantially all of a large sheet from which the strips or blanks are produced. It is found that this method will produce nine strips suitable for mens soles, or thirteen strips suitable for childrens soles, from a sheet which would yield only seven strips for mens soles or nine strips for childrens soles if the width of the strips were uniform. This saving is very important, because the reinforcing material represents not only the cost of the fabric but the cost of the coating substance and the cost of preparing the fabric.

Aside from the economical advantage of the present method, there is another advantage. The manufacturers of insoles may produce by this improved method soles of all sizes from sheets of standard or uniform width. In other words, the size of the soles which may be produced is not dependent upon the width of the reinforcing material at hand, but the production of soles by the former method is dependent upon the width of strips available for immediate use.

It is obvious to those skilled in the art that patterns instead of insoles may be employed to control the cutting of the sheet material into strips and so it is to be understood that the term insole as used throughout the claims means broadly any device having the lateral curvature or curvatures of an insole.

I claim:

A ehi e fa r eli r ee.. ns

invent material for insoles having, in combination,

means for sup orting a web of reinforcing material having a series of insoles carried thereby, knife carriers'mounted above the web cutting knives secured in said carriers for dividing the web into strips, means for feeding the web, and guides on the carriers for engaging the insoles to move the knives laterally approximately in accordance with the outlineof major portions of the length 'o'f'the margin of each insole on the web, substantially as described.

2. A machine for preparing reinforcing material for insoles having, in combination, means for supporting a web of prepared reinforcing material having a series of insoles positioned thereon, means for rendering the web adhesive for attaching the insoles to the web, a knife for dividing the web into strips, and a guide for contacting only the insoles to move the knife in accordance with the outline of marginal portions of the insoles on the web, substantially as described.

3. A machine for preparing reinforcing material for insoles having, in combination, means for supporting and feeding a web of reinforcing material having a series of insoles attached thereto, a knife, and a guide connected therewith and mounted for unrestrained movement back and forth across the web, said guide being constructed to engage marginal portions of the insoles to govern the path of cut of the knife, substantially as described.

4. A machine for preparing reinforcing material for insoles having, in combination, a plurality of rotary members for supporting a web of reinforcing material having a series of insoles arranged in rows and attached thereto, a plurality of cutting knives for operating between the rows of insoles, guides on said knives constructed and arranged to be moved between the rows and held out of contact with the web, and means for rotating said members to feed the web, substantially as described.

5. A machine for preparing reinforcing material for insoles having, in combination, means for supporting a web of reinforcing material having a plurality of rows of insoles attached thereto, a cutter for dividing the web, means for feeding the web, and a guide on said cutter constructed to contact the marginal portions of the insoles of two adjacent rows to move the cutter laterally to make a cut substantially equi-distant between the rows, substantially as described.

6. A machine for stripping fabric for reinforced insoles having, in combination, means for supporting a web of reinforcing material, a plurality of carriers mounted for reciprocatory movement across the web, a cutting knife having a swivel mounting in each of said carriers, the adjacent carriers being arranged for movement alternately toward and from oneanother to guide the knives in making a series of sinuous cuts,

and means to feed the web against the r knives, substantially as described.

7. A machine of the character described, a fabric cutting blade, means for feeding a sheet of reinforcing fabric having a plurality of insoles stuck thereon and spaced apart side by side against said blade, a sole engaging member freely movable transverse to the line of feed on which said blade is mounted, and means for supporting said sole engaging member so that it will be engaged by marginal portions of adjacent soles on opposite sides of the blade and thereby move from side to side with relation to its supporting means inmaking a cut, substantially as described.

8. A machine of the character described, a plurality of fabric cutting blades, means for feeding a sheet of reinforcing fabric having a plurality of rows of insoles stuck thereto against the blades, said blades being arranged to cut intermediate adjacent rows of .insoles, a sole engaging member movable across the line of feed for each blade, and means for supporting said sole engaging members so that they may be moved independently of each other from side to side by contacting marginal portions of their adj acent rows of insoles, substantially as described. I

9. A machine for preparing reinforcing material for insoles, having, in combination, means to support and feed a web of prepared reinforcing material having a plural- I ity of rows of insoles positioned thereon, means to heat the reinforcing material to render it adhesive for attaching the insoles thereto, means to divide the sheet into strips, and means constructed to engage the insoles to laterally separate the strips.

10. A machine for preparing insoles for reinforcing, having, in combination, a pair of rolls constructed to feed a sheet of sticky reinforcing fabric, means for dividing the sheet into strips, and two pairs of spreading rolls arranged above and below the sheet and constructed to force the strips apart laterally to prevent their sticking together, substantially as described.

11. A machine for preparing insoles, having, in combination, a pair of rolls for feeding a sheet of reinforcing fabric, means for material for insoles, having, in combination, means for supporting a Web of reinforcing material, a plurality of carriers mounted for unrestrained reciproeatory movement across the Web, a cutting knife mounted in each carrier, the adjacent carriers being arranged for movement alternately toward and from one another to guide the knives in making a series of alternately diverging and converging cuts, and means to feed the Web 10 against the knives, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have afiixeol my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

THOMAS J. BALL. Witnesses:

M. B. MAY,

P. W. PEZZETTI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

